Friday, April 24, 2015

Take a moment to run through Google's Security Checkup. The Security Checkup will insure that recent activity on your account is legitimate, that the add-ins accessing to your account are legitimate, and that the forwarding addresses that have been configured in gmail are legitimate:

A series of messages received over the weekend has generated a lot of questions to the ITS Client Services Helpdesk asking "Is this Legit?". As with most messages, the message contained a warning about email quota or account security and was supposedly from "The Helpdesk". The messages also directed users to click on a malicious link in an attempt to capture their account information.

If you receive a suspicious message, please contact ITS to verify authenticity before providing your account credentials or any personal information.

A copy of one of these messages is below:

Clicking the link brings users to an unbranded page with some generic wording and solicits the username, email address, and password of the user:

Take a moment to run through Google's Security Checkup. The Security Checkup will insure that recent activity on your account is legitimate, that the add-ins accessing to your account are legitimate, and that the forwarding addresses that have been configured in gmail are legitimate:

Friday, April 17, 2015

As users of technology, we rarely see the tug-of-war that goes on behind the scenes attempting to balance security vs accessibility. It's usually not until a feature "stops working" until we notice this struggle.

Earlier this week, a long-planned security update to the Google Chrome browser was introduced in the latest "stable" version of Google Chrome (version 42). Chrome BETA users got this update earlier this winter. The security update adjusted the default security settings to disable an antiquated way for your web browser to launch additional plugins (like JAVA - required for Banner users). As per the Google Chrome development team, "NPAPI’s 90s-era architecture has become a leading cause of hangs, crashes, security incidents, and code complexity".

ITS has been monitoring developments related to this major change. An interim solution has been developed and communicated to the campus community. We are continuing to explore a permanent solution to this issue as other web browsers have introduced plans to follow the same path as Google Chrome.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Chrome released a new version recently (Version 42) that disables the NPAPI protocol by default. This new default setting is affecting Banner users that prefer using Chrome. The fix is simple and only needs to be performed in Chrome (there is no need to make any changes in Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Safari).

This Knowledge Base Article will walk you through the process. If you do not see the Enable NPAPI section in the Chrome settings, you may still be using an older version of Chrome. Try updating Chrome and then making the adjustment.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Support for the "Home Server" system home.manhattan.edu will end on 7/1/2015. The Home Server system was originally implemented circa 2002 and represented a significant upgrade over the Novell Netware system that it replaced. Over the last 13+ years, a number of enhancements, added features, and hardware upgrades have prolonged the usable life of the Home Server system; however, times have changed and numerous alternatives exists that offer more features at a lower cost.

Google Drive has been identified as the successor of the Home Server and ITS has already taken steps to provide campus users with a smooth transition. Starting last year, new Home Server accounts were no longer created for new students and employees. Instead, instructions were provided for accessing Google Drive. ITS has also prepared a number of tips and tutorials on migrating to Google Drive and taking advantage of the additional features that it has to offer.

During the sunset period, users with additional needs related to home.manhattan.edu should contact ITS for assistance identifying alternative options. Some of these special circumstances may include departments with shared drives and users/departments with web content hosted on home.manhattan.edu (http://home.manhattan.edu/~username).

Monday, April 6, 2015

Sharing folders and files is easier than ever with Google Drive. Soon it will no longer be necessary to contact the ITS department to get access to your department's "example_shared" drive. Watch the video below to learn the basics about sharing files and folders on Drive: